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BY LOUIS C. G. JANKE, JAMES A. LUPPENS, AND RONALD D. GRAHAM
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ave you ever wondered, “What is thepower behind the light switch?” A re-cent informal survey indicated that fewpeople interviewed really have a reason-able concept of what powers the UnitedStates’ electric utility industry. When itwas explained that the United States stilldepends heavily on coal for electricity, a
common reply was,“We still burn coal in this country?”Do you know what percentage of the United States’
electricity is produced from coal? Do you know which stateranks first in total coal consumption per year? Can youname the top five states in terms of coal production?
Some of the answers may surprise you. First, how muchcoal is actually used in the United States to generate elec-tricity? From 1976 to 2002, electricity generated from coal
actually grew from 46 percent of the nation’s total electricaloutput to 51 percent (see Figures 1 and 2).
The next surprise is in coal utilization. Texas, which hasbeen synonymous with oil and gas, is the biggest user ofcoal, ranking first among the states in total coal consump-tion at over 99 million tons [90 x 106 metric tons or 90 ter-agrams (Tg)] per year. In consumption, Indiana followsTexas at 69 million tons [63 Tg].1
Finally, based on 2002 statistics (in millions of tons), thetop five states ranked in order of total coal production wereWyoming (373.5 [338.8 Tg]), West Virginia (150.6 [136.6Tg]), Kentucky (123.4 [111.9 Tg]), Pennsylvania (68.7 [62.3Tg]), and Texas (45.2 [41.0 Tg]).2
Energy from coal is the answer to the very first question,“What is the power behind the light switch?” Energy fromcoal powers lights, recharges electric car batteries, runs elec-
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tric shavers and hedge trimmers, turnson computers, and drives our assem-bly lines. Coal is what we take forgranted every time we flip a switch.
THE U.S. COAL INDUSTRYIt is estimated that the United States
possesses 25 percent of the world’sknown accessible and minable coal re-serves,3 making it the “Saudi Arabia”of coal.With an average production onthe order of 500 million tons [450 Tg]per year, coal served as an integral com-ponent of the U.S.gross domestic prod-uct from 1900 to the1950s. Although itis not well known, production throughthe later decades of the 20th century oninto the new millennium skyrocketedto near 1.1 billion tons [1000 Tg or 1 x109 metric tons] a year to help meetU.S. domestic and industrial energy de-mands (see Figure 2).
Current U.S. energy consumptionis on the order of 98.1 quadrillion Btu[103.5 x 1018 joules or 103.5 EJ] peryear. With production of over 1 billiontons [900 Tg] a year, coal supplies 22.7quadrillion Btu [23.9 EJ] or about 23percent of all U.S. energy needs.4 Toput this in perspective, current coalproduction is sufficient to operate theequivalent of about 420 power plants(750 megawatts each) 24 hours a day.Coal is a critical component for man-ufacturing steel and cement, the twogreatest elements of the U.S. infras-tructure. Coal is also used to generateover 50 percent of all electricity theUnited States produces today. With-out coal and a thorough understand-ing of its chemistry and uses, theUnited States would not haveachieved and could not sustain its pre-
sent status as the wealthiest, mostheavily industrialized nation on earth.
Most of the valuable coal seams inthe United States originate from twomain geologic periods. The valuableAppalachian Basin bituminous coals,which include almost all of our metal-lurgical grade coals, originated fromswamps formed some 270 to 350 mil-lion years ago, before dinosaurs roamedthe earth. The lignite and sub-bitumi-nous coals of the western United States,including the vast reserves of PowderRiver Basin coals, originated some 45 to65 million years ago, on the heels of thedinosaurs’ extinction.
The development of U.S. coal reserves goes hand-in-hand with theindustrial revolution. Prior to the1890s, wood was the dominant sourceof energy. In the early 1900s, energyconsumption from coal, a more con-centrated and consequently more effi-cient source of energy, surpassed thatfrom wood, and this fact greatly accel-erated the development of the econ-omy. Coal production paralleled U.S.productivity, decreasing dramaticallyduring the Great Depression and re-covering only with the beginning ofWorld War II. In 1917, 33 million tonsof coal [30 Tg] were burned annually.Today, that figure is over 830 milliontons [750 Tg]. Coal consumption bythe steel and cement industries, whichwas 3.34 million tons [3.03 Tg] in1880, stabilized at 79.3 million tons[71.9 Tg] in 1951.
During the past 100 years, ASTMInternational has developed a world-class standards development forumthat has allowed Committee D05 onCoal and Coke to work in concert
with the coal industry worldwide toimplement standards that have pro-vided significant technological, eco-nomic, and productivity benefits.These standards have played a pivotalrole in driving the U.S. economy to itspreeminent position in the world to-day. Current estimates forecast thatthe U.S. coal resource base could sup-ply an integral component of energydemands for at least another century;there will be a continued need forASTM standards that promote the ef-fective utilization of coal.
DEVELOPMENT OF ASTMCOMMITTEE D05 To promote the growth and sus-
tain the vitality of the U.S. coal indus-try, ASTM Committee D05 hasworked hand-in-hand with the coal,utility, and steel industries to establishstandards for the sampling, prepara-tion, and testing of coal. The ASTMCommittee on Coal and Coke, desig-nated as D05, was formed in 1921 as amerger of three separate groups:Committee J on Standard Specifica-tions for Foundry Coke, which hadbeen formed in 1904; Committee Oon Standard Specifications for Coal;and Committee E04 on Sampling andAnalysis of Coal.
Joseph A. Holmes, who was instrumental in getting the U.S.Congress to establish the U.S. Bureauof Mines in 1910, was the first chair of Committee O. Committee E04worked jointly with the AmericanChemical Society to develop standardmethods for the proximate analysis ofcoal under the chairmanship of Pro-fessor Samuel W. Parr and W. A.Noyes. A. C. Fieldner was the firstchair of D05 and served continuouslyin that capacity from 1920 until 1948.
Since the 1921 merger, D05 hasworked diligently to promote a de-fined focus and purpose. The growthin membership from around 60 toover 200 today coincided with therapid growth in productivity of thecoal industry. The Committee cur-rently has jurisdiction over 70 stan-dards. These standards have playedand continue to play a preeminentrole for the effective industrial utiliza-tion of coal from all regions of theUnited States for both electricity andmetallurgical coke production.
As coal production increasedthrough the 20th century, the need for
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2002 Generation of Electricity1976 Generation of Electricity
Figure 1: Percentage of electricity by fuel type, 1976 and 20025
uniform, rapid, efficient, and reliablepractices for coal assessment becamea critical factor in the marketplace.
D05 DEVELOPS WITH THECOAL INDUSTRYAround 1920, the first pulverized
coal fired boiler was developed. Steamgenerator sizes expanded rapidly; thefirst pulverized coal unit capable ofproducing 1,000,000 pounds of steamper hour [284 megawatts (MW)] wasbrought on-line in 1929. In 1966, aunit was installed at TVA’s Bull RunStation capable of 6,400,000 poundsof steam per hour [1820 MW], serv-ing a turbine capable of producing900 MW. To meet the increased ca-pacity demands of larger and largersteam generators, ball mills were in-troduced in 1933. To optimize the useof this new technology, a new testmethod, ASTM D 409, Standard TestMethod for Grindability of Coal, wasdeveloped by D05 for determining theease of mill throughput.
In 1927, due to the existence ofmany coal seams of economic interestand of varying nature, a joint com-mittee of ASTM and the AmericanStandards Association was formed forthe classification of coal. This com-bined group was responsible for theproduction of ASTM D 388, Classifi-cation of Coals by Rank, originallypublished in 1934. The standard is ac-cepted worldwide as the referencestandard for coal classification. Dur-ing the 1960s and 1970s, CommitteeD05 introduced terminology stan-dards for the description of coalseams. Further intensive efforts fromthe late 1970s to the present day haveresulted in improvement of these ter-
minology standards and the develop-ment of practices for the collection ofcoal samples, the latter culminating inthe publication of an ASTM SpecialTechnical Publication on core sam-pling in 1990 (see Figure 3). This ef-fort prompted the development ofmore comprehensive and effectivestandards for the determination of to-tal and bed moisture in coal. Collec-tively, these initiatives have provided auniform and reliable basis for the clas-sification of coal reserves.
In 1950, in conjunction with theEdison Electric Institute, D05 com-menced a decade-long study on coal-sampling methods. In 1962, this ma-jor effort resulted in the publication ofD 2013, Standard Method of Prepar-ing Coal Samples for Analysis, and, in1963, D 2234, Standard Method forCollection of a Gross Sample of Coal.In response to the ongoing needs ofthe industry, D05 continued to de-velop reliable means of quickly but ef-ficiently sampling large quantities ofcoal being shipped by rail, barge, andship. D05 has developed standards foron-line analysis for the rapid determi-nation of coal characteristics. D05 hasalso developed standards for in-situdetermination of coal stockpile den-sity by nuclear methods and volumeby photogrammetric methods. To-gether, these two standards allow in-dustry to manage coal inventories in amore economic and efficient manner.
From the 1970s to the present, theU.S. coal industry has experienced asignificant geographical shift in pro-duction, from the Appalachian andIllinois Basin to the Powder RiverBasin of Wyoming where coal seamsup to 100-feet thick [30 m] dominate
the countryside. Notonly is productionfrom these thick reserves unusuallyeconomical, but also the low sulfurcoal mined there meets the clean airact requirements without the use ofintensive coal cleaning technologythat can be necessary to produce com-pliant fuel from some eastern steamcoal reserves.
As the industry migrated west-ward, D05 had a duty to assure theusers of its standards that test meth-ods, written for coals produced pre-dominantly from the AppalachianBasin, are equally applicable for test-ing lower-rank coals. Where neces-sary, D05 modified test methods, con-ducted ruggedness testing andinterlaboratory studies that includedwestern coals, and cautioned users ofmethods how to avoid degradationof these coals while using the stan-dards. However, Powder River Basincoals bring their own set of utilizationconcerns. These coals can be high insoluble sodium, a major contributorto fouling, which is a condition thatcan affect heat rates for boilers. Com-mittee D05 has worked with the coaland utility industries in developingsampling and test methods that havebeen useful in determining heat rates,utilization characteristics, fouling andslagging indices, blending ratios, andother information pertinent to deter-mining the applicability of a particu-lar coal’s use in a particular boiler.
In order to handle and process thelarge volumes and variety of coals, it isnecessary to develop rapid and reliablemethods for screening coals for enduse. It is no surprise that test methods,by far, comprise the largest volume of
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Figure 2: Total electric power generation by major sources, 1949-20022
D05 standards. In the late 1970s andinto the ’80s, D05 capitalized on theavailability of new instrumentationwith computerized operation anddata-handling capabilities to addressthe need for greater productivity andbring about revolutionary alternativesfor the classical standards that haveserved the coal industry for so manyyears. The first completely automatedand computerized method was D4239, Test Method for Sulfur by HighTemperature Combustion. The com-mittee extended this initiative throughthe 1980s and ’90s and into the presentwith the development of more auto-mated standards for proximate analy-sis (D 5142, Test Methods for Proxi-mate Analysis of the Analysis Sampleof Coal and Coke by InstrumentalProcedures), ultimate analysis (D5373, Test Methods for InstrumentalDetermination of Carbon, Hydrogen,and Nitrogen in Laboratory Samplesof Coal and Coke), and calorific value(D 5865, Test Method for GrossCalorific Value of Coal and Coke).
Through the 1980s and ’90s,Committee D05 also introduced coaland coke microscopy standards aspractical and reliable tools for deter-mining beneficial metallurgical prop-erties. The initiatives will undoubtedlysmooth the transition to direct re-duced iron production and pulverizedcoal injection, newer technologies thatare supplanting the use of coke andputting a new face on iron productionin the United States.
CLEANER AND MOREEFFICIENTWith the passing of U.S. Public
Law 104-113, the National Technol-ogy Transfer and Advancement Act of1995, which requires federal agenciesto use U.S. private-sector standardsdevelopment system whenever possi-ble, D05 has taken a proactive role inthe development of standards tomeasure and monitor elements andcompounds of environmental con-cern in coal. Two new mercury stan-dards, ASTM D 6414, Test Methodfor Total Mercury in Coal and CoalCombustion Residues by Acid Ex-traction or Wet Oxidation/Cold Va-por Atomic Absorption, and D 6722,Test Method for Total Mercury inCoal and Coal Combustion Residuesby Direct Combustion Analysis, aswell as a new chlorine standard,ASTM D 6721, Test Method for De-termination of Chlorine in Coal byOxidative Hydrolysis Microcoulome-try, progressed from inception to fullstandards in less than two years. Thisnot only speaks well of the depth ofthe technical expertise and the dedi-cation of committee D05 and itsmembers, but also of the proceduraland technological advancements in-troduced by ASTM that have resultedin significant improvements in theprocess used for advancing credibleand industrially-relevant standardswithout sacrificing the open anddemocratic due process system that isthe hallmark of ASTM International.
The coal industry has seen a dra-matic increase in efficiency over thelast 100 years. The number of coalmines has steadily decreased frompeaks in the 1920s when 11,700 minesemployed 700,000 miners. By 2000,there were only about 71,500 minersworking in about 1,450 mines. Whilethe number of mines and of minershas decreased, the productivity ofAmerica’s mines has never beenhigher. The average production hasincreased from 0.1 tons [0.46 Mg] perman-hour in 1920 to 7.02 tons [6.37Mg] by the year 2000. The effective-ness of the industry-driven voluntaryconsensus standards system promotedby ASTM has paralleled these trendsin domestic coal production. Contin-uous development of new standardsand improvements to existing stan-dards has been a fundamental drivingforce within Committee D05. Stan-dards such as D 5192, Practice forCollection of Coal Samples fromCore; D 2961, Test Method for Single-Stage Total Moisture Less than 15% inCoal Reduced to 2.36-mm (No. 8Sieve) Topsize; D 6414, Test Methodfor Total Mercury in Coal and CoalCombustion Residues by Acid Extrac-tion or Wet Oxidation/Cold VaporAtomic Absorption; D 6722, TestMethod for Total Mercury in Coaland Coal Combustion Residues byDirect Combustion Analysis; as wellas the consolidation and improve-ments of the calorimeter methodsinto one standard, D 5865, Test
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Figure 3 — Standardization of coal core samplingpractices (left) provide a more versatile, consistent, andcost-effective method of sampling (D 5192). Prior tothis, the only sanctioned method of sampling fordetermination of coal rank (D 388) was by face channelsamples from mines or test pits (above).
Method for Gross Calorific Value ofCoal and Coke, have all been under-taken in response to coal industryneeds. ASTM D05 standards havecontributed to the advancement of amore environmentally conscious, effi-cient and cost-effective coal industry.
AN INTERNATIONALCOMMITTEEA key contributor to the openness
of the ASTM process is that member-ship in the task groups that formu-late the standards is not limited toonly ASTM members. An indicationof the commitment of D05 to pro-mote an open and free market forworld coal trade over the last 10 yearsis reflected by task groups that haveincluded participation from Australia,Canada, China, Germany, SouthAfrica, and the United Kingdom.
Committee D05 laid the ground-work for international contributions toand participation in the developmentof ASTM standards by actively partic-ipating in the deliberations of Inter-national Organization for Standardiza-tion (ISO) Technical Committee 27 onSolid Fuels since the 1950s. In the earlyyears, D05 benefited from participa-tion in TC 27 through the exchange ofinformation and by taking part instudies involving such countries as theUnited Kingdom, where coal main-tained a position of industrial promi-nence. As coal came to play a less im-portant role in the U.K., countries suchas Australia and South Africa came tothe table and contributed to significantimprovements to ASTM standardssuch as D 409, Test Method for Grind-ability of Coal by the Hardgrove-Ma-chine Method. More recently, nationssuch as China, India, Korea and Russia,which are moving to establish viableeconomies that rely on coal as an eco-nomic building block, have benefitedfrom the significant technical contri-butions advanced by Committee D05over the past 100 years.
VISION FOR THE NEXT 100YEARSIf predicted looming natural gas
shortfalls materialize, the demand forcoal may accelerate as evidenced by arecently announced conference, “Pre-pare for the Resurgence of Coal-FiredGeneration.”Globally, coal production,coal-production capacity, and coal usehave increased significantly over the
past few decades. With all of these in-creases, global warming and other en-vironmental issues have become a con-cern of many groups and individualsand many developing nations want as-surance that they will have the oppor-tunity to participate in the higher level
of living that they see resulting fromincreased industrialization.
Certainly one of the big challengesfor the coal industry is reduction of itsenvironmental footprint. To that end,U.S. President George W. Bush an-nounced in early 2003 that the UnitedStates would sponsor a $1 billion, 10-year demonstration project to createthe world’s first coal-based, zero-emis-sions electricity and hydrogen powerplant. As new technologies for miti-gating the environmental effects ofcoal utilization emerge, there will un-doubtedly be requirements for addi-tional coal standards development.
Collaborative efforts with industry,research agencies, the government, andother coal trading nations have madethe first 100 years of D05’s existence re-warding. The committee is proud of its
accomplishments.We are convincedthat the challenges ofthe next 100 years — not the least ofwhich will be to find ways of utilizingcoal to meet energy and material de-mands in a way that sustains and revi-
talizes the quality of life and the envi-ronment — will be met by those whoare attracted to an organization withsuch a commendable heritage.
References1 National Mining Association, 2004, Coal
use by state – 2002, www.nma.org/pdf/c_use_state.pdf
2 Energy Information Administration (EIA),2002, Annual Energy Review 2002, www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/overview.html
3 Energy Information Administration (EIA),2001, International Energy Annual 2001,www.eia.doe.gove/emeu/iea/table82.html
4 Energy Information Administration (EIA),2004, Monthly Energy Review March 2004,www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/pdf/pages/sec1_7.pdf
5 Rolling, Daniel A., 2003, Coal Industry, aFundamental Review of Burning Issues:Merrill Lynch Co., 47 p.
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RONALD D. GRAHAM is vice president, quality, standardizationand efficiency, at SGS Minerals Services, Geneva, Switzerland(officed in Beckley, W.V., USA). A member of ASTM CommitteeD05 since 1978, Graham has held a number of key positions,including secretary of D05.07 on Physical Characteristics of Coaland task group chair for HGI, sieve analysis, washability, andquality control. He is the immediate past chair of D05.
JAMES A. LUPPENS is project chief, coal assessment program,U.S. Geological Survey, in Reston, Va. A member of ASTM D05since 1979, he is the chair of D05 and past-chair of the ASTMCommittee on Standards. He currently chairs the task group onin-situ moisture and chaired the task group on sampling coal bythe drill core method.
Louis C. G. Janke is president of Quality Associates International®LTD (www.qai-online.com) in Douglas, Ontario, Canada. A member of Committee D05 since 1978, he has held a number ofkey positions in ASTM International, including chair of D05 andmember of the ASTM Committee on Standards and board ofdirectors. He currently chairs the D05 task group on measurement uncertainty and is also actively involved in work for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
In October 2004, Committee D05 on Coal and Coke will celebrate its 100th anniversary at ASTMInternational Headquarters in West Conshohocken, Pa. In keeping with the committee’s tradi-tion, the celebration and meeting are open to all. Contact ASTM Staff Manager Scott Orthey(phone: 610/832-9730; [email protected]).
STANDARDIZATION I FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
Mining a Committee's History
In their lead article on page 22 about the history of ASTM Committee DOS's service to the coal and coke industry, Lou Janke, Jim Luppens, and Ron Graham report on an "informal" survey that asked "What is the power behind the light switch?" Many respondents, when told the U.S. electric utility industry depends heavily on coal, responded, "We still burn coal in this country?"
I'm embarrassed to say, had the authors included me in their survey, I would have been one of those ignorant of the crucial role played today by coal in providing electricity to not only the United States, but many countries around the world. It may surprise you, as it did me, to learn that U.S. coal use actually went up in a recent 26-year span — 51 percent of U.S. electricity was generated by coal in 2002, compared to 46 percent in 1976.
Coal may be thought of as an obsolete or perhaps even depleted resource, sitting at the back of some people's minds along with whale oil, but it is far from either of those. Remember the nine coal miners trapped, then heroically rescued, two years ago at Pennsylvania's QueCreek coal mine? Make no mistake, people are still out there, day and night, mining much of our electricity for us. And right under our noses, in ASTM Committee DOS on Coal and Coke, hundreds of ASTM members have been working over the last century to standardize coal, and its residue coke, so that it can be most efficiently and cleanly used.
Another surprising fact in this month's lead feature is that the United States is the "Saudi Arabia" of coal, with one quarter of the world's accessible and minable coal reserves buried deep in its soil. Still, the work of Committee DOS is international in its scope. The committee first began working to promote free and open global coal trade in the 1950s, when it established a presence on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 27 on Solid Fuels. To this day, DOS itself enjoys the participation of task group and committee members from Australia, Canada, China, Germany, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Even though the number of U.S. mines in operation has dropped dramatically in the last century, from over 11,000 in the 1920s to under 1,500 today, coal production has never been more efficient and more vital. It would not be a stretch to say that this increasing efficiency has been both a cause and effect of Committee DOS's own productivity in developing consensus standards for the industry. One of the main "powers behind the light switch" is not only coal itself, but the ASTM committee that standardizes it.
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Akira Aoki Julie A. Clifford Vincent Diaz Lars Flink Christopher G. Ingersoll Joshua J. Jacobs Robert L. "Jay" Jordan Richard F. Kayser Warren D. Ketola Jeffrey A. Melsom Rey G. Montemayor James S. Mouithrop Ramani Narayan John S. Snodgrass Roger E. Stoller Jon S. Traw Paul K. Whitcraft PAST-CHAIRMEN Richard J. Schulte Wayne N. Holliday COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS George Totten, CHAIRMAN Arthur D. Schwope, EX-OFFICIO Roger E. Stolier, EX-OFFICIO Mauli Agraw l, VICE CHAIRMAN aSean Brossia Thomas Dulski Jenny Hitch Richard E. Link Mary E. McKnight Michael Mitchell Martin Sara John Sherwell Stephen J. Watson Letters to the editor can be
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